Priest kidnapped by Argentina military 'in peace' with Francis

Hungarian Jesuit priest Franz Jalics

Hungarian Jesuit priest Franz Jalics was kidnapped by Argentina´s 1976-1983 dictatorship when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the head of the Jesuit order in Buenos Aires. Jalics lives in Germany since 1978 and says he is “in peace” with the newly elected pontiff.

According to sources of the Jesuit order in Munich quoted by the German weekly paper "Der Spiegel", his case “was addressed” when the priest visited Argentina’s capital city some years ago invited by the BA City archbishopric.

“He is in peace with Bergoglio,” Jesuit spokesman Thomas Busch said although he disclosed no further information about the meeting talks.

Jalics was kidnapped in 1976 with Jesuit priest Orlando Yorio when they were both working in a Buenos Aires province shanty town during the dark years of the civil-military rule.

Alleged cooperation of now Pope Francis with the de facto government was approached by Argentine reporter Horacio Verbitsky in his book “The Silence.” In 2010, however, Bergoglio rejected the accusations in the book “The Jesuit.”

Following five months of torture, the Jesuit priests were freed. Yorio died in 2000 in Uruguay while 85-year old Jalics took refuge in prayer to overcome his suffering.

Now on a “planned” trip in Hungary, spokesman Busch denied that Jalics’ trip was linked to Bergoglio’s election as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Busch added that he is expected to return to Germnay on May 10th and that he wishes to make no statements about the current controversy surrounding Bergoglio.